Egypt's president seizes powers back from military

August 12, 2012

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist president ordered the retirement of the defense minister and chief of staff on Sunday and made the boldest move so far to seize back powers that the military stripped from his office right before he took over.

Mohammed Morsi has been locked in a power struggle with the military since he took office on June 30. But after militants killed 16 Egyptian soldiers a week ago at a border post with Israel in Sinai, he has sought more aggressively to assert his authority over the top generals.

He fired the nation's intelligence chief a few days ago and made two highly publicized visits to Sinai in the company of top commanders. He also chaired several meetings with the military brass and made a point of calling himself the supreme commander of the armed forces in televised speeches.

It was not immediately clear whether Morsi's surprise decisions had the military's blessing. But the appointment of outgoing Defense Minister Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi and Chief of Staff Gen. Sami Annan as presidential advisers and awarding them some of the nation's highest honors suggested they may have agreed, perhaps grudgingly, in advance.

Egypt's official Middle East News Agency, quoting an unnamed military official in a brief report, said late Sunday that Morsi's moves were "deliberated and coordinated" in advance. It said there were no "negative reactions" from within the military.

A few hours after the decisions were announced, Morsi called on Egyptians to rally behind him in the face of the nation's many challenges. "Today's decisions are not directed at certain persons or meant to embarrass certain institutions. ... I only had in mind the interest of this nation and its people," he said in a televised speech. "I want (the armed forces) to dedicate themselves to a mission that is holy to all of us and that is the defense of the nation."

After nightfall, thousands of jubilant Morsi supporters celebrated in Tahrir Square, birthplace of the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak 18 months ago. Another crowd of supporters formed outside the presidential palace in Cairo's suburb of Heliopolis.

Adding to the sweeping changes in the military leadership, Morsi also ordered the retirement of the commanders of the navy, air defense and air force, but named two of them to senior positions. He appointed a senior judge, Mahmoud Mekki, as vice president. Mekki is a pro-reform judge who publicly spoke against election fraud during Mubarak's 29-year rule.

If Morsi's decisions go unchallenged, it could mean the end of six decades of de facto military rule since army officers seized power in a coup in 1952. But removing Tantawi and Annan does not necessarily mean that the military, Egypt's most powerful institution, has been defeated or that it would give up decades of perks and prestige without a fight.

Egypt's first civilian president acted at a moment when the military was humiliated over a major security failure in Sinai, the deadliest internal attack on soldiers in modern history. Several days before the killings, Israel warned that an attack was imminent. The intelligence chief was sacked after it emerged in Egyptian media that he knew of the Israeli warning but did not act.

Sinai has been plunged into lawlessness and the rest of the country has seen a sharp deterioration in security while the military ruled. Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, a fundamentalist Islamist group, won both parliamentary and presidential elections in the first free and fair votes in Egypt's modern history. The group had been repressed under Mubarak, who ran a secular state.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which ruled Egypt for 17 months after Mubarak was forced out, stripped the presidency of many of its key powers before it handed the office to Morsi. Tantawi was the head (SCAF) and Annan was No. 2 on the ruling council.

The two men appointed to replace them were also members of the SCAF — something that could indicate either the military's agreement to the shuffle or splits at the highest level of the armed forces. Lt. Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi replaced Tantawi and Lt. Gen. Sidki Sayed Ahmed replaced Annan. They were sworn in shortly after the announcement.

Days before the inauguration, the ruling generals decreed constitutional amendments that gave them the power to legislate after the military dissolved parliament, as well as control over the national budget. It also gave them control over the process of drafting a new constitution.

With Sunday's moves, Morsi restored to his office the powers taken from him, seizing back sole control of the constitution drafting process and the right to issue laws. He decided that if the 100-member panel currently drafting the document did not finish its work for whatever reason, he will appoint a new one within 15 days and give it three weeks to finish its work. The draft will then be put to a vote in a national referendum within 30 days. Parliamentary elections will follow if the draft is adopted.

"There was a duality of power," said Saad Emara, a senior Muslim Brotherhood member. "This had to be settled in favor of one authority. The boat with two captains sinks." Omar Ashour, a visiting Scholar at the Brookings Doha Center who has interviewed SCAF members over the past year, said Morsi's decisions were negotiated with several of the generals who sat on the military council.

"The military council was not going to last forever," he said. "It is a critical battle, but this is not final." With power now concentrated in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, some fear Egypt will only move from an authoritarian state to an Islamic state.

"Now the military returns to the barracks and Morsi has absolute powers," said Abdullah el-Sinawi, a prominent political commentator and longtime supporter of the military as the guardian of Egypt's fast-fading secular traditions.

Abdel-Rahman Youssef, a liberal popular TV presenter and a supporter of Morsi, said this is a historic opportunity for political reform in Egypt. "Egypt is now before a real test — to have a powerful president yet to stop him from being repressive," he said.

While Morsi's Brotherhood is considered to be the country's strongest political group, its base of support remains limited when compared to the respect enjoyed by the military. There is hardly an Egyptian family that does not include a member in active service or who had military experience. The military has a vast economic empire that accounts for about 25 percent of GDP.

But the military has been tainted in the 17 months they ran the country after Mubarak's ouster, with the SCAF accused of mismanaging the transitional period and committing human rights violations. For now, however, Morsi appeared the victor.

Hours after announcing the shake-up, a confident looking president appeared at an annual religious ceremony to hand monetary awards to young Muslims from Egypt and elsewhere who have learned the Quran, Islam's holy book, by heart.

Mohammed Aboul-Ghar, a founder of the new Egyptian Social Democratic Party — a secular group critical of the military as well as Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood — said the power struggle has now been settled in Morsi's favor.

"The military council was forced out of power and lost its position and this was inevitable," he said. "In the power struggle, the military council was increasingly weakened because of its decisions" and its failure to secure a more straightforward path to democratic transition, he said.

Syria refugees fear long stay as French aid reaches Jordan

By Kamal Taha | AFP
(August 13 2012 Monday)

French military medics started on Sunday to set up a field hospital at Jordan's main camp for Syrian refugees, as residents expressed fear that their stay could turn into a long one.

Refugees gathered to watch 85 French medical officers assemble the hospital of 30 large khaki tents as well as 80 tones of medical equipment and aid supplies at the desert camp outside the city of Mafraq in northern Jordan.

"We are all here, officers and civilians, for the same reason: helping Syrian refugees," Colonel Yannick Rio, head of the mission, told AFP.

An Antonov transport aircraft landed in Amman on Saturday with the equipment, in the first consignment of French supplies being flown in for Syrian refugees in Jordan.

"The material has arrived and for the surgical component, which is the core of our mission, we have got all that is needed. We are going to coordinate with international organizations and NGOs to see the needs of the refugees," said Rio.

"The core of the hospital's mission is war surgery, which means treating those who were injured in the conflict ... We are counting on Jordanian authorities to evacuate the injured and bring them here."

Jordan is hosting more than 150,000 Syrian refugees, and many of them came under Syrian army fire as they fled their country into the kingdom.

"We have implemented a medical and surgical service based essentially on a surgical unit specialized in treating war injuries," chief surgeon Patrick Tirolle told AFP.

"Another part (of the mission) will be operated by general practitioners to offer medical assistance to the camp's residents," said Tirolle, adding that a vaccination centre is being prepared to deal with "any risk of epidemic."

But while welcoming the French initiative, some refugees were concerned the new installations signal a drawn-out stalemate in the Syrian conflict.

"This is a priceless humanitarian work because there are many people here in the camp who need surgical operations and other medical help," Khalil Alkeh, a camp resident from Deraa, a flashpoint in southern Syria, told AFP.

"But I would prefer to see a military action to arm the rebels and help them topple the (Syrian) regime. We are sick of this situation that is taking too long," he said.

The UN-administered Zaatari camp, opened in July, has so far taken in 6,000 refugees and it can house up to 120,000 people.

"This French assistance is good," said Nawal, a mother of five from Homs, another hotspot in Syria's revolt. "But I am worried because this means our hardship is just starting. This situation would take a long time."

According to Colonel Gerard Dosseh, the head doctor, "26 people (in the French team) have experience in dealing with difficult health situations and catastrophes."

His colleague Patrick Tirolle believes the team's capacity is limited. "We have only one operations room, which can accommodate up to 10 people," but "for pure treatment, there is no limit," he said.

As work was underway to install the tents, a group of children gathered to watch.

"We thought they (the French team) were distributing shoes because yesterday (Saturday) some other people were giving shoes. By the time I arrived, everything was gone," said 11-year-old Muath Abdel Karim, staring at the French soldiers.

"Our shoes were torn off when we ran away from Syria," he added.

The refugees have complained about hot weather, dust and lack of electricity at the Zaatari camp, where average temperatures in the summer are around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

Jordanian Information Minister Samih Maaytah said on Sunday that the tents in Zaatari will soon be replaced by caravans.

Iraq urges Turkey to deal with Baghdad, not Kurds

Sat, Aug 11, 2012

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq's prime minister is urging Turkey to deal with his country through the central government in Baghdad, criticizing Ankara's direct outreach to Iraq's self-ruling Kurdish region.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in a statement Saturday that Iraq rejects efforts by Turkey to treat the Kurds' northern territory "as if it is an independent state."

He added that if Turkey wants to maintain good regional relations, it must do so through Iraq. The statement says al-Maliki made the comments during an interview with a Turkish television channel.

Iraq warned Turkey in July that a deal it has to import Kurdish-produced oil is illegal. Relations deteriorated further earlier this month when Turkey's foreign minister paid a surprise visit to the contested Iraqi city of Kirkuk after meeting Kurdish leaders.

US walks out as Iran delivers anti-US speech

WARNING: Article contains propaganda!

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By EDITH M. LEDERER - Associated Press
Thu, Sep 22, 2011

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — American diplomats led a walkout at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday as Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad fiercely attacked the United States and major West European nations as "arrogant powers" ruled by greed and eager for military adventurism.

The two U.S. diplomats, who specialize in the Middle East, were followed out of the chamber by diplomats from more than 30 countries. They included the 27 European Union members, Australia, New Zealand, Somalia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Macedonia, a U.N. diplomat said. Israel boycotted the speech.

Ahmadenijad's fiery anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli rhetoric has been a staple of the General Assembly's ministerial meetings.

Last year, Ahmadinejad provoked a walkout by the U.S., EU, and others when he said a majority of people in the United States and around the world believe the American government staged the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in an attempt to assure Israel's survival.

The provocative comments prompted the U.S. delegation to walk out of Ahmadinejad's U.N. speech, where he also blamed the U.S. as the power behind U.N. Security Council sanctions against Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used as fuel for electricity generation or to build nuclear weapons.

Ahmadinejad's speech pitted the poverty and unhappiness of most countries against the riches and power of the U.S. and unnamed European nations that he accused of perpetuating wars, causing the current global economic crisis and infringing on "the rights and sovereignty of nations."

He attacked the United States and European colonial powers for abducting tens of millions of Africans and making them slaves, for their readiness "to drop thousands of bombs on other countries," and for dominating the U.N. Security Council. He singled out the U.S. for using a nuclear bomb against Japan in World War II and imposing and supporting military dictatorships and totalitarian regimes in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

"It is as lucid as daylight that the same slave masters and colonial powers that once instigated the two world wars have caused widespread misery and disorder with far-reaching effects across the globe since then," Ahmadinejad said. "Do these arrogant powers really have the competence and ability to run or govern the world?"

The Iranian president answered by calling for "the shared and collective management of the world in order to put an end to the present disorders, tyranny and discriminations worldwide." Last year, he said "the future belongs to Iran" and challenged the U.S. to accept that his country has a major role in the world.

Ahmadinejad made no mention of his disputed re-election in June 2009 when security forces systematically crushed opposition protests, the current internal political turmoil that has sharply diminished his power, or Iran's nuclear program which the U.S. and its allies believe is aimed at producing nuclear weapons.

"While President Ahmadinejad is lecturing the world from the U.N. podium," Human Rights Watch's U.N. Director Philippe Bolopion said, "dissent is still being crushed ruthlessly in Iran and basic rights demanded by millions in the Arab world are brutally denied to Iranians who are demanding the same."

"The world assembly should take with a grain of salt the remarks of a leader who said nothing about the public hanging yesterday of a 17-year-old in his own country," he said.

In his speech, Ahmadinejad noted "the widespread awakening in Islamic lands ... (in) the pursuit of the realization of justice, freedom and the creation of a better tomorrow." He said "our great nationa stands ready to join hands with other nations to march on this beautiful path."
The Iranian leader accused the U.S. of threatening to place sanctions on anyone who questions the Holocaust and the Sept. 11 attacks with sanctions and military action.

Without naming the United States, he asked: "Who imposed, through deceits and hypocrisy, the Zionism and over 60 years of war, homelessness, terror and mass murder on the Palestinian people and on countries in the region?"

Ahmadinejad accused some unidentified European countries of still using the Holocaust "as the excuse to pay fine or ransom to the Zionists." He also said any question about the foundation of Zionism is condemned by the U.S. "as an unforgivable sin."

Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, said: "Mr. Ahmadinejad had a chance to address his own people's aspirations for freedom and dignity, but instead he again turned to abhorrent anti-Semitic slurs and despicable conspiracy theories."

When the idea of an independent fact-finding investigation of "the hidden elements" involved in the Sept. 11 attacks was raised last year, he said, "my country and myself came under pressure and threat by the government of the United States."

"Instead of assigning a fact-finding team, they killed the main perpetrator and threw his body into the sea," Ahmadinejad said, referring to the U.S. military's killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in early May.

"Would it not have been reasonable to bring to justice and openly to trial the main perpetrator of the incident in order to identify the elements behind the safe space provided for the invading aircraft to attack the twin world trade towers?," he asked.

'Happy and glorious' Olympics come to rocking end

August 13, 2012

LONDON (AP) — With a little British pomp and a lot of British pop, London brought the curtain down on a glorious Olympic Games on Sunday in a spectacular, technicolor pageant of landmarks, lightshows and lots of fun.

The closing ceremony offered a sensory blast including rock 'n' roll rickshaws, dustbin percussionists, an exploding yellow car and a marching band in red tunics and bearskin hats. The Spice Girls staged a show-stopping reunion, and Monty Python's Eric Idle sauntered through "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" — accompanied by Roman centurions, Scottish bagpipers and a human cannonball.

It all made for a psychedelic mashup that had 80,000 fans at Olympic Stadium stomping, cheering and singing along. Organizers estimated 300 million or more were watching around the world. What a way to end a games far more successful than many Londoners expected. Security woes were overcome, and traffic nightmares never materialized. The weather held up, more or less, and British athletes overachieved.

It all came with a price tag of $14 billion — three times the original estimate. But nobody wanted to spoil the fun with such mundane concerns, at least not on this night. "We lit the flame, and we lit up the world," said London organizing committee chief Sebastian Coe. "When our time came, Britain, we did it right."

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge declared the Olympics over with praise for the athletes. "Through your commitment to fair play, your respect for opponents, and your grace in defeat as well as in victory, you have earned the right to be called Olympians," he said, adding: "These were happy and glorious games."

But the night was about splash more than speeches. Festive and fast-moving, the ceremony opened with pop bands Madness, Pet Shop Boys and One Direction, a shout-out to Winston Churchill and a tribute to the Union Jack — the floor of Olympic Stadium floor arranged to resemble the British flag.

Monochrome recreations of London landmarks were covered in newsprint, from Big Ben's clock tower and Tower Bridge to the London Eye ferris wheel and the chubby highrise known as the Gherkin. Street percussion group Stomp built the noise into a frenzy. Dancers brandished brooms, in a nod to the spontaneous popular movement to clean up London after riots shook neighborhoods not far from Olympic Stadium just a year ago.

Liam Gallagher performed "Wonderwall," a 1990s hit by his former band, Oasis, Muse rocked the house with the hard-edged Olympic anthem "Survival," and Queen guitarist Brian May was joined by singer Jessie J for a crowd-pleasing "We Will Rock You."

The headline performers were each paid a pound, a little more than $1.50. The night ended with the extinguishing of the multi-petaled Olympic cauldron and a supercharged rendition of "My Generation" and other classics by The Who that had the crowd dancing in the aisles. Confetti rained down, and fireworks lit up the sky.

Prince William's wife, Kate, and Prince Harry took seats next to Rogge. They sang along to "God Save the Queen." There was no sign of the queen herself, who made a memorable mock parachute entrance at the July 27 opening ceremony.

Following Olympic tradition, the 10,800 athletes of the London Games marched in as one rather than with their nations, symbolizing the harmony and friendship inspired by the games. As the crowd cheered their heroes and flashbulbs rippled through the stadium, the Olympians cheered back, some carrying national flags, others snapping photographs with smartphones and cameras.

They held hands, embraced and carried each other on their shoulders, finally forming a human mosh pit on the field. The ceremony had something for everyone, from tween girls to 1960s hippies. The face of John Lennon appeared on the stadium floor, assembled by 101 fragments of sculpture, and just as quickly gave way to George Michael, Fatboy Slim and Annie Lennox.

Eight minutes were turned over to Brazil, host of the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, which delivered an explosion of samba, sequins and Latin cool. Following tradition, the mayor of London handed the Olympic flag off to his Rio counterpart.

Britons, who had fretted for weeks that the games would become a fiasco, were buoyed by their biggest medal haul since 1908 — 29 golds and 65 medals in all. The United States edged China in both the gold medal and total medal standings, eclipsing its best performance at an Olympics on foreign soil after the Dream Team narrowly held off Spain in basketball for the country's 46th gold.

While the games may have lacked some of the grandeur of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, there were more than a few unforgettable moments. Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt became an Olympic legend by repeating as champion in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Michael Phelps ended his long career as the most decorated Olympian in history.

British distance runner Mo Farah became a national treasure by sweeping the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races, and favorite daughter Jessica Ennis became a global phenomenon with her victory in the heptathlon.

Female athletes took center stage in a way they never had before. American gymnast Gabby Douglas soared to gold, the U.S. soccer team made a dramatic march to the championship. Packed houses turned out to watch the new event of women's boxing. And women competed for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei for the first time.

And then there was Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee from South Africa running on carbon-fiber blades, who didn't win a medal but nonetheless left a champion. And sprinter Manteo Mitchell, who completed his leg of the 4x400 relay semifinal on a broken leg, allowing his team to qualify and win silver.

Britons seemed exhausted and exhilarated after two glorious weeks in the world's spotlight, and just months after the country celebrated the queen's 60th year on the throne with a magnificent pageant and street parties.

Some at Olympic Park acknowledged happy surprise that not much had gone wrong, and so much had gone right. "I was a bit worried we wouldn't be able to live up to it," said Phil Akrill of Chichester. "But walking around here it's just unbelievable."

Even non-Brits were proud of their adopted homeland. "It's just been a really nice thing to see," said Anja Ekelof, a Swede who now lives in Scotland. "The whole country has come together."

Associated Press writers Fergus Bell and Jill Lawless contributed to this report.

Beware of the wildlife even quiet galaxies can get dangerous

Ames IA (SPX)
Sep 22, 2011

Even though a dwarf galaxy clear across the Milky Way looks to be a mouse, it may have once been a bear that slashed through the Milky Way and created the galaxy's spiral arms, writes an Iowa State University astronomer in the journal Nature.

Curtis Struck, an Iowa State professor of physics and astronomy, uses a News and Views commentary in the Sept. 15 issue of Nature to add context and color to a study published in the same issue by a research team led by Chris W. Purcell of the University of Pittsburgh.

The Purcell group reports that the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy collided with the Milky Way, creating the galaxy's spiral arms, its central bar structure and the flaring at its outer disk. Along the way, the dwarf galaxy's stars were scattered and the galaxy shrunk to an object that's so small and unimpressive it's hard to see.

The Purcell group writes that dwarf galaxies such as the Sagittarius originally had massive amounts of dark matter. The original galaxy, in other words, may have been 100,000 times more massive than it is today. And that may have given it the power to shape our galaxy.

Struck has studied galaxies for 30 years and focuses his research on galactic collisions. His book, "Galaxy Collisions: Forging New Worlds from Cosmic Crashes," was published earlier this year. (Struck will discuss the book at Iowa State's Parks Library at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26.)

In his Nature commentary, Struck said the Sagittarius paper gives astronomers new ideas to study. Among them: Maybe the evolution of our Milky Way galaxy did include collisions and wasn't as peaceful as astronomers had thought.

And, even though these dwarf galaxies are dim and difficult to detect, the effects of their collisions with bigger galaxies may be widespread across the universe.

Struck reported there are several clues to those widespread effects: In recent years several dozen of the dwarf galaxies have been discovered around the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies.

The effects of galaxy collisions with these dwarfs could be long lived. And models of galaxy formation indicate that these dwarf galaxies could be common and important parts of galaxy growth.

Struck also writes that the estimated range of the size of Sagittarius in its original form is likely to be the subject of study and contention. He notes the estimates at the smaller end of the range indicate the dwarf galaxy would have smaller, but still significant, impacts on the Milky Way.

That means a galactic mouse could have once been a bear that's "been messing things up for some time," Struck wrote. And so, he warned, "Beware of the wildlife, even in apparently quiet galaxies."

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Beware_of_the_wildlife_even_quiet_galaxies_can_get_dangerours_999.html.

Dawn Collects a Bounty of Beauty from Vesta

Pasadena CA (JPL)
Sep 22, 2011

A new video from NASA's Dawn spacecraft takes us on a flyover journey above the surface of the giant asteroid Vesta.

The data obtained by Dawn's framing camera, used to produce the visualizations, will help scientists determine the processes that formed Vesta's striking features. It will also help Dawn mission fans all over the world visualize this mysterious world, which is the second most massive object in the main asteroid belt.

You'll notice in the video that Vesta is not entirely lit up. There is no light in the high northern latitudes because, like Earth, Vesta has seasons. Currently it is northern winter on Vesta, and the northern polar region is in perpetual darkness.

When we view Vesta's rotation from above the south pole, half is in darkness simply because half of Vesta is in daylight and half is in the darkness of night .

Another distinct feature seen in the video is a massive circular structure in the south pole region. Scientists were particularly eager to see this area close-up, since NASA's Hubble Space Telescope first detected it years ago. The circular structure, or depression, is several hundreds of miles, or kilometers, wide, with cliffs that are also several miles high.

One impressive mountain in the center of the depression rises approximately 9 miles (15 kilometers) above the base of this depression, making it one of the highest elevations on all known bodies with solid surfaces in the solar system.

The collection of images, obtained when Dawn was about 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers) above Vesta's surface, was used to determine its rotational axis and a system of latitude and longitude coordinates. One of the first tasks tackled by the Dawn science team was to determine the precise orientation of Vesta's rotation axis relative to the celestial sphere.

The zero-longitude, or prime meridian, of Vesta was defined by the science team using a tiny crater about 1,640 feet (500 meters) in diameter, which they named "Claudia," after a Roman woman during the second century B.C.

Dawn's craters will be named after the vestal virgins-the priestesses of the goddess Vesta, and famous Roman women, while other features will be named for festivals and towns of that era.

Source: Space Daily.
Link: http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Dawn_Collects_a_Bounty_of_Beauty_from_Vesta_999.html.